News
World economy in deep recession: IMF
The global economy will contract by 1.3% in 2009, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said, even with determined efforts by governments to restore national financial sectors to health.
Colombia requests "insurance" credit line from IMF
Colombia became the second Latin American country this year to ask for a credit line from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), when it requested $10.4 billion to help it withstand the global financial crisis.
Zimbabwe "raided private bank accounts
Gideon Gono, governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, the country's central bank, admitted on 20 April that he took hard currency from the bank accounts of private businesses and foreign aid groups without authorisation, in efforts to keep the country's…
Sweden cuts rates to record 0.5%
The Riksbank cut its benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point to an all-time low of 0.5% on 21 April.
ECB releases Annual Report
The European Central Bank (ECB) published its Annual Report for 2008 on 21 April.
Lord George, former Bank governor, dies
Eddie George, governor of the Bank of England from 1993 to 2003, died of cancer Saturday, aged 70.
Mexico cuts despite above-target inflation
The Bank of Mexico cited its growing concern about the extent of the slowdown in the national economy as the reasons for a deeper than anticipated cut in interest rates last Friday.
Spain's governor feels the heat
Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega, deputy head of Spain's Socialist government has criticised the governor of the central bank, Miguel Angel Fernandez Ordonez, for being "alarmist" about the state of financing of the country's pension system.
Inflation is not forgotten - ECB's Trichet
Speaking in Tokyo, the president of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet, stressed the need to keep a watchful eye on inflation.
SF Fed's Yellen: rates may have to burst bubbles
Janet Yellen, the president of the San Francisco Federal Reserve, has acknowledged that rate hikes may be necessary to counter asset-price bubbles, challenging a central tenet of the Greenspan-era Fed and her own previously-held views.
Sack succeeds Dudley as NY Fed markets chief
Brian Sack, now a vice-president at Macroeconomic Advisers, a firm of economic forecasters, will replace William Dudley as head of the New York Federal Reserve's markets group.
British regulator denies whistleblower claims
The Financial Services Authority (FSA), the United Kingdom's financial regulator, has parried allegations made by a former employee that it had allowed building societies to become involved in areas of finance that they knew little about.
Inflation targeting not enough: BoE's Barker
Kate Barker, a member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has acknowledged that inflation targeting alone cannot produce economic stability.
Former Kansas Fed chief dies
Roger Guffey, the head of the Kansas City Federal Reserve from 1976 until 1991, has died.
More easing needed in New Zealand: OECD
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand should cut its policy rate by a further percentage point to 2% in order to stimulate the domestic economy, said the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Thursday. The views contrast with those…
IMF sees severe recession, slow recovery ahead
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted the world is in for a long and severe recession, though the global policy response could help spur a recovery.
China not manipulating renminbi: US Treasury
Beijing has avoided a devaluation of the renminbi in recent months, the United States Treasury acknowledged on Wednesday, though it still believes the currency to be undervalued.
Beige Book points to slowing downturn
The Federal Reserve's Beige Book, a survey of economic conditions compiled by the 12 regional Feds, has provided further evidence that the rate at which the United States economy is shrinking is falling.
Bosnia eases reserve requirements
The Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina on Thursday moved to relax its monetary stance in a bid to encourage banks to lend more.
De Grauwe labels Maastricht rules political tools
The Maastricht criteria for euro adoption are political instruments, not economically-vital measures, a respected economist has said.
Fiji sacks Narube and devalues dollar
The Reserve Bank of Fiji devalued the Fiji dollar by 20% on Wednesday hours after Savenaca Narube, the governor, was removed from the central bank by government officials.
Tokyo seeks meeting with Shirakawa on economy woe
A senior Japanese politician has called for a meeting with Masaaki Shirakawa, the governor of Bank of Japan, apparently to ask the central bank to do more to abate the economic downturn.
Fed planning communication enhancements: reports
The Federal Reserve looks set to bow to political pressure and disclose more details of its various attempts to tackle the crisis, which have led to the central bank's balance sheet more than doubling in size.
US working on stress-test disclosure: report
Washington is working on proposals to disclose the results of its stress tests on the 19 biggest American banks, say reports.